試談文化差異對商務(wù)英語翻譯的影響.doc

本科生畢業(yè)論文本科生畢業(yè)論文 試談文化差異對商務(wù)英語翻譯的影響試談文化差異對商務(wù)英語翻譯的影響 院院 系系 人文與社會科學(xué)系人文與社會科學(xué)系 Influences of Cultural Differences upon Business English Translation June 5 2009 I Acknowledgements It was really a laborious task to accomplish a B A thesis Many people gave me support and help in the process of writing the paper Upon the completion of this paper I would like to give my gratitude to all those who have granted me help on the paper and on my four year study in this school 矚慫潤厲釤瘞睞櫪廡賴 First I d like to give my gratitude to my dear teacher supervisor Mr Lin Zhiyuan who generously gave me his kindly help and instructions during the whole process of my paper writing I also owe a special debt of gratitude to the other teachers of mine as they have given me valuable suggestions on my chosen of topic and essay structure of the dissertation 聞 創(chuàng)溝燴鐺險愛氌譴凈 Very special thanks also go to those reference books and websites They have provided me with valuable materials and information and given me some good suggestions 殘 騖樓諍錈瀨濟溆塹籟 Then I d like to give my many thanks to my classmates who helped me a lot with my information collecting and paper polishing Most important of all I want to give my thanks to my mother university and all the teachers in the college 釅錒極額閉鎮(zhèn)檜豬訣錐 II 摘要摘要 隨著世界經(jīng)濟全球化趨勢的發(fā)展 中西方國家之間的貿(mào)易往來日益頻 繁 商務(wù)活動所展現(xiàn)出的不僅是一種經(jīng)濟活動 而且還是一種文化上的交流 商務(wù)英語翻譯作為不同語言的人們之間進行商業(yè)交流的交際過程和交際工具 就顯得尤為重要 自跨文化交流活動以來 翻譯實踐就與文化產(chǎn)生了不可分 割的聯(lián)系 文化加速了翻譯的發(fā)展 而翻譯又促進了文化的傳播 文化與翻 譯的發(fā)展相得益彰 隨著全球經(jīng)濟一體化時代的到來 地域不再局限人們的 交流空間 跨文化交流愈加頻繁 頻繁的跨文化交流加速了文化碰撞的呈現(xiàn) 商務(wù)英語翻譯中出現(xiàn)的文化因素也越來越多 這對于譯者來說是個挑戰(zhàn) 因 為英語和漢語有諸多差異之處 所以很難把地道的英語譯成能為大多數(shù)中國 商務(wù)者所接受的漢語 同樣 讓普通的英語國家的商務(wù)者通過譯文來理解地 道的漢語也不容易 如何克服這些由文化差異所引起的翻譯障礙是譯者需要 面對的一個大問題 本文將分析文化差異與商務(wù)英語翻譯實踐的關(guān)系以及文 化差異對商務(wù)英語翻譯造成的影響 通過舉出充分的例子來分析文化差異對 商務(wù)英語翻譯造成的影響并提出如何克服由文化差異引起的翻譯障礙的方法 本文目的是借助商務(wù)英語翻譯使人們能更了解文化對語言的影響并有效地進 行商務(wù)交流 彈貿(mào)攝爾霽斃攬磚鹵廡 關(guān)鍵字 關(guān)鍵字 商務(wù)英語 文化差異 翻譯實踐 III Abstract With the development of the economic globalization business activities are being carried more and more frequently between China and other English speaking countries Business English Translation is not only displayed in economic activities but also a kind of cultural exchange Since the moment cross cultural communication exists Business English translation practice has close relationship with culture Culture speeds up the development of translation while translation helps to spread culture With the age of globalization coming communication across cultures happens more and more frequently This is a challenge for translators because there are many discrepancies between English culture and Chinese culture it is hard to translate idiomatic English into Chinese that can be accepted by most Chinese traders Also how to let average English traders understand idiomatic Chinese is not easy How to overcome the barriers caused by culture is a big problem that translators need to face This thesis is to analyze the relationship between cultural differences and Business English translation practice and the influence of cultural differences on Business English translation By giving plenty of examples the thesis analyzes the influence of cultural differences on Business English translation and tries to offer some approaches to overcome the barriers caused by cultural differences in Business English translation practice so as to help people communicate more effectively 謀蕎摶篋飆鐸懟類蔣薔 Keywords Business English Cultural difference translation practice廈礴懇蹣駢時盡繼價騷 IV TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I煢楨廣鰳鯡選塊網(wǎng)羈淚 摘要 II 鵝婭盡損鵪慘歷蘢鴛賴 ABSTRACT III 籟叢媽羥為贍僨蟶練淨(jìng) TABLE OF CONTENTS IV 預(yù)頌圣鉉儐歲齦訝驊糴 INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE SURVEY OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND BET 2滲釤嗆儼勻諤鱉調(diào)硯錦 1 1 DEFINITION OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES 2 鐃誅臥瀉噦圣騁貺頂廡 1 2 IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS ENGLISH TRANSLATION 2擁締鳳襪備訊顎輪爛薔 1 3 INTERACTION OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND BET 3贓熱俁閫歲匱閶鄴鎵騷 PART TWO A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCES OF CULTURAL V DIFFERENCES 4 壇摶鄉(xiāng)囂懺蔞鍥鈴氈淚 2 1 TRADEMARK 4 蠟變黲癟報倀鉉錨鈰贅 2 1 1 Ambiguity of Trademark 4買鯛鴯譖曇膚遙閆擷凄 2 1 2 Inelegance of Trademark 5綾鏑鯛駕櫬鶘蹤韋轔糴 2 1 3 Misunderstanding of Trademark 5 驅(qū)躓髏彥浹綏譎飴憂錦 2 2 ADVERTISEMENTS 6 2 2 1 Different Cultural Values 7 貓蠆驢繪燈鮒誅髏貺廡 2 2 2 Different Thought Patterns 7 鍬籟饗逕瑣筆襖鷗婭薔 2 2 3 Different Aesthetic Standards 9構(gòu)氽頑黌碩飩薺齦話騖 2 3 COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES 9 輒嶧陽檉籪癤網(wǎng)儂號澩 2 3 1 Difference in Business Negotiation 10 堯側(cè)閆繭絳闕絢勵蜆贅 2 3 2 Difference in Business Notion 10 識饒鎂錕縊灩筧嚌儼淒 2 3 3 Difference in Business Etiquette 11 VI 凍鈹鋨勞臘鍇癇婦脛糴 PART THREE PROPER STRETAGIES TO DEAL WITH THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN BET 13 恥諤銪滅縈歡煬鞏鶩錦 3 1 REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSLATORS 13 鯊腎鑰詘褳鉀溈懼統(tǒng)庫 3 2 TREATING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES CORRECTLY 13碩癘鄴頏謅攆檸攜驤蘞 3 3 REINFORCING CULTURAL EXCHANGE 14 閿擻輳嬪諫遷擇楨秘騖 CONCLUSION 15 氬嚕躑竄貿(mào)懇彈瀘頷澩 WORKS CITED 16 萬方科技學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文 1 Introduction International corporation and communication are gaining increasing development since China entered into World Trade Organization Business English as a bridge linking China and foreign countries is playing a more crucial role and is gaining increasing popularity 釷鵒資贏車贖孫滅獅贅 Business English Translation involves the conversion of two different cultures Although culture is very complicated we can roughly classify it into three categories in scope a material culture which refers to the natural environment b instituted culture which refers to social system religious system customs and national psychological etc c mental culture which refers to people s mentalities and behaviors their beliefs perceptions concepts of value thought patterns etc The cultural differences have greatly affected the various aspects of business activities and determine the success or failure of business activities Unsuccessful business translation will not only bring significant economic losses but will also affect the image of the enterprise and even the country From home and abroad Business English Translation Research although the translator noted the impact of the cultural differences for translation between East and West it is still a lack of systematic attention to cultural differences there is also a unilateral cognition Which will make the readers get unnecessary misunderstandings To do an excellent translation work it is even more important to grasp two cultures than to master two languages because the word will materialize its meanings only in a particular culture Therefore it is extremely necessary to understand the cultural difference in the background of globalization In order to master English and successfully complete the task of Business English translation from English into Chinese successful know about the cultural differences is essential Therefore in this paper the author attempts to discuss the problem of translation of business English from the cultural perspective in detail 慫闡譜鯪逕導(dǎo)嘯畫長涼 萬方科技學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文 2 Part One Survey of Cultural Differences and Business English Translation諺辭調(diào)擔(dān)鈧諂動禪瀉類 Now the economy is becoming more and more globalized and the culture is becoming more and more integrated People need communicate between different national cultures geography characteristics of the times while during the process of exchange translation is very important The translation s origin is the exchanging of culture while communication and cultural exchanges result the translation 嘰覲詿縲鐋囁偽純鉿錈 1 1 Definition of Cultural Differences Over the years different scholars have different opinions towards the definition of cultural differences and it has been defined in many ways However most of these definitions put emphasis on different aspects of cultural differences 熒紿譏鉦鏌觶鷹緇機庫 According to the definition put forth by Nida cultural differences refer to the differences between historical heritage social customs and cultural tradition between different countries and religions which are the reflection of the history developing From the above explanation we may have an understanding about the culture on the whole Cultural differences is broad and it involves many aspects so it is very difficult to give an accurate definition Generally speaking we can consider that Cultural differences refers to the different cultural values different thought pattern different social norms and different communication styles among different people from different countries and cultural backgrounds 鶼漬螻偉閱劍鯫腎邏蘞 1 2 Importance of Business English Translation In the background of economic globalization business activities have becoming more and more frequently It is said that there are almost 1 6 billion people who use English as their first language or second language and most of them use business English everyday in the world Therefore the business English translation plays an important role in the progress of 萬方科技學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文 3 communication 紂憂蔣氳頑薟驅(qū)藥憫騖 In 2010 Shanghai Expo will be held in Shanghai China At that time many enterprises and economic organization will come to invest in China thus Chinese enterprises may get lots of opportunities to grow and develop Therefore when communicating with foreign investors the business English is very important 穎芻莖蛺餑億頓裊賠瀧 However during the progress of communication someone who is not familiar with English may counter lots of trouble On this condition the business English translation is in badly needed for them 濫驂膽閉驟羥闈詔寢賻 1 3 The Interaction of Cultural Differences and Business English Translation 銚銻縵嚌鰻鴻鋟謎諏涼 With Chinese reform and opening up policy are pushing forward continuously the business activities between China and the world are becoming intensive and frequent Thus business English translation is marked with strong cultural consciousness Someone believes that anyone who is competent in English is able to deal with the translation That is just the wrong attitude result in the failure of translation 擠貼綬電麥結(jié)鈺贖嘵類 For example six is an unpopular figure and people regard it as an unlucky number in western culture However in China people often use the number 6 as the trademark of commodities which they think it can bring good fortune such as 666 金六福 and so on When these products are exported to the western countries they will receive a cold welcome The reason is that six is also a symbol of devil in the western culture 賠荊紳諮侖驟遼輩襪錈 The above example shows how important cultural differences mean to business English translation So it is critical to pay special attention to cultural differences for the translator Thus the failure of translation will be reduced and avoided on a certain degree 塤礙 籟饈決穩(wěn)賽釙冊庫 萬方科技學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文 4 Part Two A Detailed Analysis of the influences of Cultural Differences裊樣祕廬廂顫諺鍘羋藺 Nowadays a number of products have been exporting to the international market However most of them fail to capture the market The reason for that mainly lies in the improper marketing strategies and advertising campaigns In other words the neglect or unawareness of cultural differences can result in the failure 倉嫗盤紲囑瓏詁鍬齊驁 2 1 Trademark Trademark is the sign of product which plays an important role in sale It is the concentration of commodities distinct characteristics the core of commodities culture and the powerful weapon for an enterprise to participate in international competitions It is not only a logo also a lure the final goal of which is to attract customers and sell commodities The well known trademark often guarantees the products quality which is a symbol of the reasonable price and good service Trademark translation conforms to the conception of semi logy Trademark translation is the process from decoding to coding and the process of re creating and further processing That is to say trademark translation is the transplantation of two kinds of cultures A good trademark translation may bring an enterprise huge wealth whereas a bad one may let an enterprise suffer great loss Therefore an enterprise s future is closely linked with trademark translation At the same time trademark translation can widen the linguistic research field enrich the connotation of linguistics and accelerate the combination of linguistic theoretic research and its practical application 綻萬璉轆娛閬蟶鬮綰瀧 2 1 1 Ambiguity of Trademark When we export products to foreign countries we always overlook the culture shocks As a result these neglects make the trademarks unpopular and affect the sales of products 驍顧 萬方科技學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文 5 燁鶚巰瀆蕪領(lǐng)鱺賻 Sprite is the meaning of wizard and goblin in English At the eve of Halloween children often dress themselves up as wizards or monsters and ask for candy from house to house However in China the wizard and the fairy is symbol of evil That will not be acceptable to consumers by the literal translation Therefore the trademark of 雪碧 can be accepted by consumers easily in China which makes the consumers have a cool feeling Another translation happens to be politically inappropriate When introduced to foreign countries the Chinese trademark of canvas shoes 大鵬 is rendered as ROC which is a sort of giant bird in Arabic fables However ROC happens to be the abbreviation of Republic of China Obviously the translation stirs up inappropriate political associations 瑣釙濺曖惲錕 縞馭篩涼 2 1 2 Inelegance of Trademark As we all know the same words in different backgrounds may have different meanings However many translators usually overlook this problem during the process of translation of the logos 鎦詩涇艷損樓紲鯗餳類 For example Translation by using Chinese phonetic letters coincides with English words with derogatory sense The typical example is 馬戲撲克 The version Maxi Puke reminds the English consumers of something revolting and unpleasant for maxi means big in English and puke indicates vomited food or drink 櫛緶歐鋤棗鈕種鵑瑤錟 As we all know 雄雞 is a trademark name for a clock in China this trademark is not only indicates the function of the clock but also fits for Chinese culture Moreover cocks are mascots in ancient China and they are always used on ceremonial occasions But for the westerners the word cock contains obscene meaning and it is usually avoided in formal English If the producers in China use cock as the trademark name the image of the product may be damaged When exporting to the western market the original English trademark name for the 雄雞 was Golden Cock but changed into Golden Rooster latterly This trademark name is more suitable and attractive for the westerners 轡燁棟剛殮攬瑤麗鬮應(yīng) 萬方科技學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文 6 So we should pay more attention to the translation of the elegant name of trademarks on condition that we understand the cultural differences 峴揚斕滾澗輻灄興渙藺 2 1 3 Misunderstanding of Trademark It is not enough for advertising translators only to know the literal meaning of an ad for it may be endowed with extended meaning and cultural implication Fully competent advertising translators are supposed to have a good command of religions traditions ethnic attitudes the spirit of community and purchasing habits of the target countries Otherwise the translated ads might go against the original intention of the producers 詩叁撻訥燼憂毀厲鋨驁 In the western culture peacock is considered as an unlucky animal It is often used to describe a person who is walking on air So in western countries if we use the word peacock as the trademark the misunderstanding may occur so the 孔雀 TV set does not use the trademark Peacock but Uranus which is a name of a star On the contrary peacock is an auspicious animal for the Chinese because people believe it is a good sign that peacock spreads its tail Therefore many Chinese commodities like to use the trademark name 孔雀 for example one Chinese watch trademark 孔雀 則鯤愜韋瘓賈暉園棟瀧 The Shanghai produced pen trademark as 白翎 could receive welcome in English speaking countries for the trademark is translated as White Feather Unfortunately white feather is a symbol or mark of cowardice in English It derives the connotation from the belief that white feather in a gamecock s tail is a sign of a poor fighter The English idiom show the white feather means sneak away at a critical juncture Therefore white feather is used to represent caitiffs The translation nullifies the strengths of the company on the international market and becomes a disadvantage that fails to serve the interests of the producers or those of the distributors 脹鏝彈奧秘孫戶孿釔賻 2 2 Advertisements Following the economic enhancing the economy becomes global and every nation s 萬方科技學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文 7 products come to the world market Therefore the advertisement plays a decisive role Advertisement is closely related to the culture The purpose of an advertisement is to persuade target customers to buy the advertised products or services Thus it is a most important task to be aware of the differences between Chinese culture and western culture Some defects and even unsuccessful advertisements are made because of the poor quality of translation This paper proceeds from problems in advertising translation that the translators do not have a good command of the nation specific culture and is too adhesive to the advertisement s superficial meaning while there are a lot of cultural factors hidden in the present advertising translation In fact advertisement translation requires more than just rendering sentences into another language Translators have to convert the ideas and thoughts behind the sentences into the target language by applying the knowledge of the target culture Cultural differences greatly affect the advertisements and the sale of products because people have different cultural values thought patterns and aesthetic standard which influence people s judgment between East and West 鰓躋峽禱紉誦幫廢掃減 2 2 1 Different Cultural Values Culture values can be classified into many categories but we would like to discuss about collectivism and individualism because they are the main factors which can determine the success or not in the intercultural business communication Let us take a look at the differences between collectivism and individualism 稟虛嬪賑維嚌妝擴踴糶 Chinese culture puts emphasis on the values of collectivism so the advertisements of Chinese products also put emphasis on family and affection Take the advertisement of 孔府 家酒 for example this trademark name reminds people of family and affection Therefore it fits for